Sleepless
by Ozuttly
Summary: M-21 is plagued by Nightmares while Regis is sleepless out of worry for Seira. Implied Regis21.


Sleepless

So, even though the last story I uploaded on here was Franky/M-21, I will admit that my OTP is M-21/Regis. Basically, M-21 is haunted by nightmares and Regis is too worried to sleep. The two of them decide to waste time together. Fluff, no smut. Takes place shortly after Rael attacked M-21 at the school, before they left for Lukedonia.

The first thing that M-21 saw when he arrived was red. Blood was smeared across the concrete of the main entranceway, the school gates themselves painted in fresh crimson. Torn limbs and unidentifiable lumps of flesh were strewn about carelessly, and the stench of rotting meat filled the air. Nearby he could see a splash of purple, and grey eyes widened when he spotted Takio's brutally-beaten corpse. Who he assumed to be Tao lay nearby, but his face had been slashed to pieces and his head nearly torn off his shoulders. The only way he knew it was Tao was the torn armband reading 'Yae Rahn High School'.

M-21 slowly stepped forward to inspect the bodies of his fellow guards – his friends. The second he set foot into the grounds, he heard a squelch and felt something soft and wet underneath his boot. He didn't want to look down, knew that it was a bad idea. But he couldn't hold back, and he paid the price for that curiosity and had to fight the urge to vomit. An intestine was under his foot, and when he followed the length of it with his eyes, he saw Yuna laying on her back nearby. Beside her were Shinwoo, Ikhan and Suyi, all in similar states of dismemberment.

Standing beside them, his hands covered in fresh blood, was Rael. The blond's face was split into a feral grin, and he casually shook the stray drops from his hands when he spotted the guard. His foot was placed on Yuna's throat, crushing it beneath his boot, and he let out a little giggle as he looked down at the carcass.

"Oops. I got something dirty on my hands."

M-21's throat went dry, rage and despair boiling up inside him, but he didn't even have the chance to move before Rael's hand was buried deep within his stomach.

He woke up with a start, panting heavily. The sheets were soaked in sweat, the bandages covering the wound on his side stained pink. It seemed that it had re-opened in his fitful sleep, and M-21 frowned, deciding that he'd need to tell Frankenstein about it in the morning. A heavy sigh escaped him as he pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to will away the gory images that were still haunting his mind.

That was the third time he'd had the dream this week. Each time it would be darker and more horrifying than the last, and this was the most disturbing incarnation yet. To see Yuna ripped open like that… His throat went dry at the mere memory, and his hand fell to his side as he stared blankly at the ceiling. He wouldn't be getting anymore sleep tonight.

After a few minutes he finally sat up, brushing his bangs behind his ear as he eyed the door to his bedroom. Tao and Takio both seemed to be still asleep, and the hallway outside was dark. Maybe a glass of water would help calm him down… It didn't look like anybody else was still awake. He swung his feet over the edge of the bed and slipped them into the fluffy pink slippers that Frankenstein insisted they wear in the house.

Just as he suspected, the entire house was dark. There wasn't even a light on upstairs, and he figured that it must be close to three in the morning if even Frankenstein was in bed. He turned the corner into the kitchen, blinking in surprise when he realized that it wasn't quite as dark in here as he'd first thought.

Regis was seated on the couch, a portable booklight sitting on the coffee-table in front of him. His shoulders were hunched, his eyebrows knitted together in a serious, worried expression. He was tense; M-21 figured that he must not have been able to fall asleep either after Rael had disappeared with Seira. Heck, normally M-21 would never be able to sneak up on the boy. Right now Regis didn't even look up from his book as he approached.

."Can't sleep?" Regis nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard the voice coming from behind him, and he quickly spun around to see M-21 leaning against the doorway. A scowl immediately came to his face as he set the book down on the coffee table.

."Hmph. I was merely engrossed in my book, that's all," he replied as M-21 headed into the kitchen and turned on the faucet. The steady sound of water flowing into the sink helped calm him down a little, and once his glass was full he took a big gulp. He wiped one hand across his mouth, setting the cup down on the counter. He casually glanced back towards Regis in the living room, a hint of a smirk pulling at his lips.

."I'm sure," He commented, while Regis merely let out another 'hmph' sound and crossed his arms. Red eyes closed as he leaned back into the couch, before one of them slid open again to inspect the approaching form of M-21.

."What about you? Don't you have work tomorrow? I would think that a security guard would know the importance of getting proper sleep." The retort was sharp, and M-21 let out a small snort as he sat down next to the silver-haired noble, a headache starting to form in the back of his skull. Of course he knew that. He'd had far too many sleepless nights lately, and now that he was closer Regis could see the dark circles beneath his eyes. The smaller boy almost felt bad for his comment now, and he was about to take it back when M-21 spoke.

."I would think it would be more important for a high-school brat. Don't you have tests or homework to do?" he shot back, although there wasn't as much vigor in the argument as usual. He really wasn't in the mood for this cat and dog game at the moment, and he half wanted to just head back to his bedroom and go back to sleep. But he knew that if he did, the dreams would return. He wasn't ready for that right now.

Regis gave him a short glare, unfolding his arms and allowing them to fall to his sides as he eyed M-21 up.

."I've already completed all of the homework that's been assigned to me. Doing otherwise would be inelegant." He replied curtly, his eyes pausing for a moment at the bandage on M-21's side. The security guard quickly went to adjust his shirt and hide it, but Regis grabbed the fabric and pulled it up anyways. Despite their constant bickering, they were friends, and M-21 knew that the little boy had been worrying about him ever since the attack at the school. "Does he know that the wound has reopened?"

M-21 let out a sigh, snatching back his shirt and pulling it down.

."It's no big deal. It must have just been agitated while I was asleep," he answered, deciding not to mention the nightmares. It didn't do him any good, and he could see those red eyes boring into the side of his head out of the corner of his eye. Regis didn't know anything about his past or the reasons why he'd come to live with Frankenstein, but sometimes M-21 wondered if the boy had figured out more than he let on.

They were silent for a moment, before Regis turned around and grabbed the book that he had been reading off of the coffee table, shoving it into M-21's hands. When he received a questioning look in return, Regis merely turned his face away.

."Gaju-nim used to… I mean, whenever I would have trouble sleeping, he would tell me to try reading a book. It might help you relax… If somebody like you even knows how to read." The little stab at the end was entirely expected, and M-21 snorted as he opened up the book.

Unfortunately, what was written inside was most definitely not Korean, so he really /couldn't/ read it. The last thing he was going to do was give Regis that satisfaction, however, and he muttered something about not being stupid as he scanned the foreign words on the page, pretending to be very engrossed. Regis, however, merely sat beside him in silence, and M-21 became increasingly aware of his body-heat as the other slowly began to relax. After a while he felt something heavy rest on his shoulder, and he looked up from the book to see Regis leaning against him, his eyes closed and his breathing shallow. At first M-21 thought he was asleep, but then his hand began to move.

It rested over M-21's heart, his fingers sliding through the button-holes of his shirt to touch his skin. The guard's first reaction was shock, and he was about to make a snarky comment about having no interest in children when Regis finally spoke up.

."Your old wound… Has already healed, huh?" His words were quiet, as though he wasn't sure about truly asking the question aloud. M-21's eyebrow rose, and then it clicked. He was talking about /that/ wound, the one he'd gotten in the fight with Shark. The fight when Regis wasn't sure if M-21 himself were an ally or an enemy, but had still fought to protect him and the schoolchildren.

M-21 blinked, but then his face softened a little as he nodded his head, the tiniest hint of a smile coming to his face.

."Yeah. It closed up a long time ago." Hearing that seemed to help Regis to relax and he pulled his hand away. Looking at him now, M-21 noted, he really did look like a normal child. Seira's leaving and Rael's appearance must have put quite a strain on him, and trying to keep up a brave face for everybody most have been wearing him down. Right now he almost looked fragile; like he would break at the slightest touch. M-21 subconsciously wrapped one arm around him, closing his own eyes as he leaned back into the couch.

."About that…" Regis spoke up again, opening his eyes just a crack to watch M-21's face. He was silent for a few moments, trying to choose the right words. "I… I realized that I never apologized to you, about making those assumptions back then. And while they were perfectly reasonable in the situation, it would be unbefitting of a noble if I didn't set things right. So…"

M-21 couldn't help but chuckle, and Regis shifted as he looked up at him in annoyance.

"Kids shouldn't worry about stupid things like that," he began, and Regis glared at him while opening his mouth to retort, but M-21 cut him off. "I forgot about that ages ago."

Regis was silent for a moment as he looked at the other, but M-21's eyes were closed, the book in his lap closed. He seemed more at peace now than when he'd first walked into the room, and Regis pouted slightly as he laid his head back down on his shoulder. He felt… Safer. More comfortable when he was in the other's presence, and even though he had been so restless earlier, it didn't take long for the both of them to drift off to sleep.


End file.
